TongTong
Sign in

忍心 (rěn xīn) — to have the heart to do sth; to steel oneself to do sth (often used in negative or rhetorical questions)

Definition

Used almost only in negatives or rhetorical questions to mean 'have the heart to' (不忍心 = can't bring oneself to). 忍/忍受/忍耐 focus on enduring pain; 忍心 focuses on being willing to cause harm or hurt someone.

verb
to have the heart to do sthto steel oneself to do sth (often used in negative or rhetorical questions)

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ bù rěn xīn gào sù hái zi zhēn xiàng.
    I can't bear to tell the child the truth.
  • 忍心？
    Nǐ zěn me rěn xīn lí kāi nǐ de jiā rén?
    How can you bear to leave your family?
  • 忍心。
    Tā rěn xīn zuò chū le nà ge jué dìng.
    He steeled himself to make that decision.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

忍rěnendure
心xīnheart

忍 expresses bearing, 心 the heart or will, together meaning to have the heart to do something.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
刃
刃rèn忍rěn
Same sound today

忍 combines 心 (heart) and 刃 (blade). The 刃 part provides the sound, and the 心 part is the heart.

Open 忍 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.